The file is divided into three very unequal blocks: one continuing installment of Daredevil, 1976 to 1983, which contains the essentials and is bought in batches;three limited series in his name(2004, 2010-2011, 2017), available for a few euros; and a handful of team fascicles from 2007 to 2009 where the character bears neither his name nor his costume— these are the only ones really difficult to spot. A search by character name misses this third block.
Building a collection around an antagonist who has never had a regular series requires abandoning the usual method, which consists of following a numbering.
This guide proposes the organization that works instead, and it focuses on the only really tricky part: the years when the character works under another identity.
Block 1: the 1976-1983 tranche
This is the heart, and this is also the good news: everything fits into a single series, over a numbering range of around seventy issues.
The character enters in 1976 and accomplishes everything that matters until the summer of 1983. Between these two milestones, he appears in clusters: two episodes in 1976, one in 1977, three in 1979, then a series of decisive moments between 1981 and 1983.
A recommendation that often surprises:do not buy these numbers individually.
The reasoning is arithmetic. On a series whose general rating remains low, a seller who announces an isolated number by presenting it as a notable appearance applies a premium. The same issue, buried in a batch of twenty consecutive issues, costs a fraction of this amount. Three issues purchased separately regularly cost more than the entire installment purchased at once.
You recover in passing the intermediate episodes, which contain nothing spectacular but which give the file its continuity. An antagonist is understood all the better when we see what the series is saying between his appearances.
The only exception concerns the introductory issue, and that of December 1981. These two are treated separately, as distinct acquisitions - see ourrating analysisfor edition and status arbitrations.
Block 2: the fascicles where he is not named
Here is the difficulty specific to this file, and it is real.
Between 2007 and 2010, the character joined two successive groups. In the second, from January 2009, it operates under the public identity of a famous hero, costume and name included. For dozens of issues, he acted without his presence being noted anywhere on the cover.
Three practical consequences arise from this.
The ads don't mention it. A salesman describes what he sees: a team title, a cover, a number. Nothing invites him to specify who is hiding under the mask, and many sincerely ignore it.
Appearance lists rank him poorly. The databases which list presences by character work on the name displayed. A borrowed identity puts them in default, or produces duplicate entries depending on the convention chosen.
You cannot delegate this research. This is the part of the file that you must establish yourself, once, based on chronological boundaries rather than names.
The method that works: first locate the period(two team series, between January 2007 and 2010), then buy by numbering brackets as in the previous block. Look for the title of the series, never the character.
Block 3: the three limited series
The simplest and least expensive block.
Three limited series bear his name: five episodes in 2004-2005, a diptych published at the end of 2010, five episodes in 2017. Around fifteen issues in total, all available without difficulty.
A warning on the last one. The catalog lists seven different designs for its inaugural issue— the regular edition, several signed covers, convention and boutique exclusives. If you are aiming for completeness on this specific point, know what you are committing to; otherwise, get the current edition and forget about it. These variations have no structural rarity: their circulation was fixed by retailer orders, not by a manufacturing accident.
Our advice: treat this block like reading. It contributes little to the value of the whole and a lot to its understanding, notably the 2004 series, which addresses the question of its origins head-on - without ever allowing us to verify what it says.
What this folder does not contain
You might as well announce it clearly, this avoids unnecessary research.
No regular series. Twenty-eight years separate his creation from the first publication bearing his name. There is therefore no continuous numbering to follow, no annual, no anniversary number.
No authoritative origin story. Existing versions deliberately contradict each other. The booklet which, on other files, constitutes the second key – the one which explains the character – has no equivalent here.
Almost no variant covers before 2004. The distinctions to know about the old period relate to the printed price and the distribution circuit, not to the image. It's simpler to manage, and much less expensive.
This list of gaps is good news in disguise: it considerably reduces the surface area of the file.
Check what a batch really contains
The batch strategy recommended above calls for caution because it has a known blind spot.
When an ad offers a block numbering range, two very different situations are hidden behind the same wording. Or the seller transfers a tranche as he constituted it at the time, and the numbers sought are there. Or he has already withdrawn the issues of which he knew the value, then sold the rest as a set.
The second case is common, and there is nothing dishonest about it: everyone is free to sell their pieces separately. The problem only appears if the buyer assumes otherwise.
Two reflexes avoid disappointment.
Require list of numbers, not range.“From 125 to 145” says nothing about the actual content. Even an approximate enumeration immediately reveals the holes. A seller in good faith provides it without difficulty; a refusal is in itself a response.
Count the booklets. If the announcement indicates a range of twenty issues and a quantity of sixteen copies, the gap lies somewhere, and rarely on uninteresting episodes.
Applied to this file, the verification mainly concerns two points of the numbering: the entry on the scene in 1976 and the episode at the end of 1981. These are the only ones that any slightly informed seller knows how to put aside.
How to classify it once acquired
A question rarely addressed, and yet decisive for those who already have a few hundred booklets.
A character who lives in other people's series poses a real storage problem: should these numbers be classified under his name, or under that of the series?
The practical answer is to sort by series and index by character. In other words: physically, the issues remain with their original title, in numbering order — this is the only classification that remains consistent when the collection grows. On the other hand, the card for each number bears a note allowing you to find the whole thing at once.
Without this double entry, two problems invariably arise. We buy back a number already owned because it was stored elsewhere. And we become incapable of telling, when faced with an ad, whether the proposed copy is missing or not — precisely the situation that ourtool for identifying missing itemsis designed to avoid.
What budget, and in what order
A distribution that works well on this issue, expressed in proportions rather than in amounts.
Most of it on one piece. The introductory booklet alone concentrates most of the value of the whole. Buy it once, in the best condition your budget allows, and consider the matter settled.
A modest share on the continuing tranche. Consecutive issue sets cost little and fill the collection quickly. This is where the best performance is found, both in reading and coherence.
The remainder of the limited series. They cost almost nothing and are available at any time. There's no rush.
Buying order matters: start with the continuous slice, not the expensive part. You will then know if the character interests you enough to justify the main acquisition - and many discover on this occasion that it is the episodes of 1981-1982 that they wanted, more than that of 1976.
Collections or booklets
The period 1979-1983 is the subject of regular reissues in volumes. It is by far the most economical way to read the essentials, and we systematically recommend it before purchasing any booklet.
The rule we apply is constant:read first in collections, then buy in booklets the only issues you really want to own. It avoids the most common mistake, which consists of building a collection of issues that have never been opened.
For borrowed identities from 2007-2010, the collections have an additional advantage: they restore the reading order, which isolated issues do not allow when several series intersect.
A file that ends
Last remark, and it is important when choosing a character to collect.
Unlike a leading figure whose appearances accumulate indefinitely, this remains an antagonist employed intermittently. The pace of publication is irregular, often spaced several years apart.
Concretely:a well-defined collection on this character continues to grow. You can declare it complete according to your own criteria and stick to it, which is rarely possible elsewhere.
This is an underestimated argument. Most major character files condemn you to an endless race; this one accepts to be finished.
To choose your reading priorities, see ourbest bows; for details of the founding booklet, our article on itsfirst appearance.
Your questions about this file
Much less than we think. The installment of Daredevil which contains the essentials covers around seventy issues between 1976 and 1983, and the three limited series represent around fifteen issues. A serious and readable set therefore contains around a hundred issues, only one of which is really expensive.
Because a seller who advertises a single number as a notable appearance charges a premium. The same issue in a set of twenty consecutive issues costs a fraction of this amount — three issues purchased separately often cost more than the entire issue. As a bonus, you get the intermediate episodes, which give continuity to the file.
Because between 2007 and 2010, the character operates within two groups, and in the second he acts under the public identity of a known hero, costume and name included. The announcements do not mention it, and the appearance lists work on the name displayed. Search by series title and period, never by character name.
Almost not, except for the 2017 limited series, the first issue of which exists in seven versions. Before 2004, the distinctions that matter concerned the printed price and the distribution channel, not the image. It's much easier to manage, and much less expensive, than on a modern character.
Arrange physically by series, in numbering order — this is the only classification that holds when the collection grows — and index by character on the card for each issue. Without this double entry, we buy back issues already owned and we become unable to tell, when faced with an ad, if the copy is missing.
By the continuous installment in batches, not by the expensive piece. It costs little, fills the collection quickly, and will tell you if the character interests you enough to justify the main acquisition. Many discovered on this occasion that it was the episodes from the early 1980s that they wanted, more than the introductory booklet.
No. Versions of his past deliberately contradict each other, and the 2004 limited series that addresses the issue does so in a deliberately unverifiable manner. The booklet which, elsewhere, constitutes the second key to a file – the one which explains the character – has no equivalent here. This further reduces the surface area to be covered.
Yes, and it’s an underestimated argument. The character remains an antagonist employed intermittently, at an irregular pace often spaced several years apart. A well-defined collection therefore stops growing and can be declared complete according to your own criteria, which is rarely possible on a leading figure.
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